Game featured a near nine-hour intermission during the pandemic.
Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo doesn’t want to talk about the game that happened on Feb. 20, 2021 – a 3-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche in Lake Tahoe.
“Don’t get me started,” he said.
When the Golden Knights take part in the 2024 Winter Classic in Seattle against the Seattle Kraken, the hope is there won’t be a repeat performance of that fateful day in Lake Tahoe.
The game began at 12:12 p.m. local time, but after the first period, the ice had pretty much turned to slush due to sunlight and less than ideal conditions.
“The ice just couldn’t stay ice,” Vegas forward William Karlsson said.
The game was suspended until the conditions improved, which took approximately nine hours to correct. By the time the second period started, it was 9:02 p.m. local time, meaning the players took a near nine-hour break in between the first and second periods.
The game ended at approximately 10:50 p.m. local time.
The game was being played during the pandemic, compounding the issue. The players couldn’t do anything during the nine-hour layoff other than wait for the game to continue.
“It was not fun. We couldn’t do anything with the families. We couldn’t do anything like outside of the area too,” Vegas forward Jonathan Marchessault said. “So, it was not the greatest experience. It was fun to skate outside and play game outside. The scenery was nice, but except that, it was not that good of an experience.”
While it highly unlikely that the Winter Classic will experience the same thing – it is expected to be cold enough – the stadium has a retractable roof helping keep the sunlight off the ice.
Even so, Pietrangelo remains leery he will have to relive the Lake Tahoe experience again.
“I’m hoping there’s not a nine-hour intermission,” Pietrangelo said.